Omnivores: They are the vast majority of respondents answering questions about gay marriage. Some 72% of this sample were Omnivores. Again, because so many respondents fall into this category, we find that the group is quite similar to the population at large.

Selective Reinforcers: Some 16% of those we asked about gay marriage were Selective Reinforcers. Members of this group were slightly less likely that the average American to follow the news. Only 53% read a newspaper on a typical day (versus 60%), and 21% get information about gay marriage online (versus 25% of omnivores). These individuals also had lower educational attainment on average, with only 8% holding a college degree.

Tuned Outs: This group made up 8% of gay marriage respondents. Tuned Outs are least likely to be online (55%), and to have a broadband connection at home (13%). They also pay less attention to the news. On a typical day, 37% read a newspaper, 68% watch TV news, and 31% get news online.  Finally, Tuned Outs are a more diverse racially: 60% are whites, 14% are blacks, and 16% are English-speaking Hispanics.

Contrarians: The smallest of the four groups, 5% of respondents fell into this category. The characteristics that distinguish members of this group from the general public are their slightly lower educational attainment (17% are college graduates), slightly lower levels of broadband access (18%), and the fact that 85% are women.